Korey nervously stared up at the clock tower, shaking his head. "Nah. Sorry. I'm chickening out."

"Still worried about heights, huh?" Maymie gave a sad smirk, "It's fine. I guess we can just go be lame somewhere else." She languidly plucked up a skateboard. Korey noticed a different sort of air about May. She was always…down. But today was bad.

"He's still not back…is he?"

She paused her boarding and kicked it up, groaning, "I really hate that you can read me like a book." From her wallet she plucked out a picture. It had been the same they had plastered on the missing posters, partially as a joke. Her and him, against a clear backdrop with party hats and very dulled expressions. Korey had taken the photo during their last "big" birthday together.

"Did you guys…fight?"

"What? No. He had beef with me, but I let him be."

"Korey, you sure?"

"Uh yeah…why wouldn't I be?" He cocked an eyebrow, "You really think I'm the reason he's gone?"

"He had issues with you. I just wanted to make sure you weren't being a little shit."

Something about her uncaring, snarky tone set him off. He grit his teeth, shaking, "Ugh! May! What the fuck? You really think I'd be THAT much of an asshat to your boyfriend?"

May snapped back, "He's not my boyfriend!"

"Yeah, that much is obvious. Who'd wanna date a sad-sack like you? I can't believe we're even related!" He threw his hands up with a instigating laugh.

"After all the trouble I went through for you!" She curled her fist. Shame filled her almost instantly as she threw the first fist towards him. Korey dodged and tackled her back, the two rolling onto the pavement and struggling in a half-hearted fight.

Karen saw this, gasping as she opened the front door. "Kids! Stop!"

May huffed, finally knitting her brow before kneeing his gut. As he stood and began to flail towards her, she swiftly kicked between his legs. A light wheeze emerged as he sunk to the ground, holding his groin. Bacon leapt out, beginning to smother him in licks while he was down. "AAA! STOP!" He whined, sobbing.

"Korey…what did you do that for? Why are you even here?" Karen asked with a frown, holding the canine back, "How…did you get here?"

"I'm going to my room!" May yelled, slamming the door behind her.

Dirt had collected all along his face and left side. He stood, adjusting his new piercing on his right brow to ensure it had not dislodged. "Sorry Auntie…"

"Go home Korey." She simply instructed, leading Bacon inside and shutting the door. He noticed the photo on the ground, now torn slightly at the center. He plucked it up and sighed, "Where are you Eli?"

Elijah woke. He had forgotten where he was during his rest. There was a weight comforting his side. A pleasant smell emitted from the red and black stripes of Lily's hair. He swallowed hard, recollecting his recent memories as he gazed to the dimly lit room around them. The pink duvet underneath him sunk under their bodies. A plush tiger was practically wrapped around the back of his neck. Joshua was clutching at his leg. Sandwiched between them, he was blissful. When was the last time he had slept so well? Before his mother had died…most likely.

Twilight Town, Korey, Maymie…it all seemed like a distant memory right now. But deep in his heart, he knew he couldn't abandon them. Despite having everything right here, he had sworn to protect Maymie to her father. And to retrieve the shards.

Lily's eyes were fluttering open. She shoved her nose deeper into his chest, inhaling before curling her arms around his torso. "Ten more minutes?"

"Take as long as you need."

"Sultry." She snickered before adjusting herself and sitting up. "I don't like to lay in bed like that for long. Coffee? Tea?'

"Tea. Coffee gives me the runs."

She quietly laughed, maneuvering herself around Joshua. "How about pancakes for breakfast?"

"You cooking?"

"Of course!"

Joshua happily continued pouring the maple syrup on his stack. "Easy." Elijah chuckled.

"Yeah, you want pancakes with that syrup?" Lily gently plucked the bottle from him and Joshua sighed, beginning to cut its soggy mass.

Lily moved her food to and fro on her plate, giving a wayward sigh. Elijah cocked his head, "What's wrong?"

"I just hope…that Replica is okay. I still don't really know how I'm gonna tell Charles."

"Leave that to me." He offered. "I can go find her."

"It was a boy." She suddenly mentioned before he stood.

"What?"

"The person I lost. His name was Kosei. I was in love. But now he's gone. That's all."

The Replica sneered, rubbing her head. The Corridors were all wrong. She had no idea where any of them were going. It was like her heart was taking her in different directions, undecided and insecure.

The Flood continued to follow behind her, cautiously sticking within her shadow. She was on a beach, on some strange island. Nobody was around right now.

She stared helplessly at the star-shaped fruit upon a low-hanging tree nearby, growing. "No! I don't want to be here either! Where…where do I need to go? Why did I come here?"

Flood held its head up from the darkness, pressing its strange conical hand to her lower leg. She sighed and pet its head, frowning. "I'm sorry…I just…I don't understand a lot right now. I think…we're both new to this."

It almost sounded like it purred as she scratched under its chin. After contemplating, she began to hear voices. "Shit…others. I need to get out of here. Help me out, please?"

Flood cocked its body again, thinning itself out as she revealed a shadowy portal again. The two stepped through together just before the voices grew louder.

Deep in the restored town of Radiant Garden, Namine had a day to herself. It was odd. The others were still busying themselves with trying to find Sora. Her counterpart still slumbered away, examining her memories. It wasn't quite time for her to help just yet. After her near-death experience, it was refreshing to have something so mundane as a library trip.

She happily hummed a familiar tune, lingering her fingers on the edges of the novels. What was she in the mood for today? Just as something caught her eye, she heard the familiar sound of Darkness. "Why now…?" She bit her lip, bracing herself.

To her surprise, a stranger stepped out. The Replica met her eyes. "Damn it!" She cursed, kicking a bookshelf.

Namine was shocked by her behavior. She put her foot against the ground, huffing, "Now hang on! That's no way to act. This is a library!"

The Replica was stunned by her bravery. "You…seriously?" A laugh emerged from her, harsher than she intended. Namine gasped, watching the Flood emerge. It sniffed at her recoiling form and screeched, its body angling sharply. "Oh, someone does not like you."

"Where…where did you find that?"

"You know what this is?"

Namine was silent, staring her down. The Replica gazed back, trying to unnerve her.

"You're a Replica, aren't you."

"What do you know about that?"

Namine blushed fiercely, flustered and taken aback as the girl approached, nearly pinning her against the wall. She held up a book as a shield, swallowing. "I…I placed memories inside a Replica once."

"It wasn't me though, was it?" She looked almost dejected.

Namine softened a bit, pushing her back. "It's rude to do that."

"It's cowardly not to tell your secrets!" The Replica frowned and backed up, crossing her arms. A flash of hope gleamed in her eyes, "Do…do you have any of my memories?"

"I've never met you…or whoever your counterpart is. I'm sorry." It was hard to hide the lie. She knew exactly what this was before her, who she was and who she was connected to.

The Replica plucked Flood up and shook it in front of her, "Where does this thing come from?"

"It didn't come from YOU?" Namine pouted, puffing her cheeks.

The Replica was astonished at her tone, cocking a white eyebrow up. "It comes from someone…?"

Namine heard commotion from downstairs, face contorted into terror, "You…you should go. You'll get into trouble here. Trust me…"

She knew more than she was leading on, the Replica determined. Despite this, she took her advice, summoning a portal. "Who are you?"

"Namine…and you…?"

"I don't have a name. Maybe when I do, we can meet up again."

Namine smirked, shaking her head, "Wouldn't be the strangest thing that's happened to me…sure. Why not."

The Replica almost felt a pang of sadness as the dark corridor clung down and around her. A sigh emerged, echoing into the black and purple tendrils that surrounded her now.

Kosei stared at the amphibian in his face. It was a murky brown, with a speckled pattern. A species he'd never seen before, likely native to this world. He glanced to Kin-Kin, still gazing to him with her large, golden eyes in expectancy, "Uh, sure. I'll need an appropriate habitat for it, though." He knelt and rinsed his hands in the cold cave water with a shiver. He took the frog in his hands. "Was this what you wanted to do on Twilight Town? You should have just said. I actually have another tank of frogs on my gummi ship."

"Twilight town?" She cocked her head. The water sloshed around as she moved. Confused she blinked, "Gummi ship…oh wow you can drive one of those things? That's awesome! I never quite got the hang of it!" She dismissed his former statement. She released one of the frogs, It sailed back into the water with a plop as she stuck her hand out, "Kin-kin Takehanta! Did my mentors send you to get me? You have that look…"

"They did," he said, shaking her hand firmly as she finally emerged. He watched softly as she blew herself off with an Aero spell, shaking any remnants off. "I'll be hanging around for an extended time for training. They want you back at the house now, so we should get going."

Kin-kin gently let the last frog go. It floated near her before it finally scurried off. She watched it and turned to him, a large smile on her face. Her conversation was scattered, "Okay sounds good. Oh did they move my stuff? There's just one guest room...err…what's your name?"

"Kosei Treger," He motioned for her to follow. "I probably won't need the map anymore. I'm sure you know these woods inside and out. Is there anything special in the cave? Emerald and Damien said that was one of your favorite spots."

"Oh yeah. I like dark places. Not really sure why. My favorite time of day is night, right before bed. You can see all the stars in the sky then. It just feels…safe somehow. Quiet." She swiped off some of the grime from her boots, "And there's fun creatures in here. Frogs. Salamaders. Fish. Bats. Crawdads. One time I found one the size of my hand! Korey was so mean, he wanted to eat it…" She frowned as she sided up close to Kosei.

"Korey…?"

"My brother. Bout this tall." She stretched up a bit, "Silver hair, short…buzzed on one side. Big blue eyes. Lots of piercings. He's hard to miss. He'll probably come to investigate later. It's like he can smell when I'm having a good time!"

Kosei's thoughts trailed off, "I haven't seen a night sky in a long time. Where I'm from, it's like the sun never sets."

"If you walk later, tell me please." She paused, "Oh yeah. Do you like cats? Owls act a lot like them honestly. We just got one not too long ago. She's almost bald! A cat, not an owl. Her name is Mozzarella." She dug in her skirt pocket and revealed a picture of the gray tuxedo-colored cornish rex. "She's so cute! But ugly too!"

He took the picture to look at the animal closer. "Yeah, I like cats. Any reason for the name?"

Her eyes bulged widely, "Oh man. I just love pizza. It's my favorite!" She bounced a bit, "My parents own a bakery. So a lot of people seem to think it would be bread or sweets. But pizza's a treat. It's the best thing at the end of a long week. Korey works at the restaurant near us that makes it, and he's really good at making it."

"Pizza does go with bakeries!" He laughed, catching a bit of her enthusiasm.

The two paused. Their reflections lingered on the surface of the lake. Her head tilted towards him, taking his feature in, her eyes lingering to the staff. "There's something…familiar about you."

"What do you mean?" he asked, cautiously.

"Just bring around you right now. It's like…I found part of myself." She felt heat creeping down her neck, "oh gosh! I'm sorry!" She sprinted off, away from him with a panicked look on her face, definitely not going the right way.

"Hey, wait up!" He tailed her until she came up to a waterfall, not too far from the cave entrance. She gazed back at him, her eyes almost glowing in the shadows. But they weren't frightening, in fact in a certain way, they were almost comforting.

She frowned deeply as she saw him approaching. She offered her hand and said, "I think…It scares me. I've not known the feeling you're carrying before. It's strong."

Confusion lingered. "I don't know what you're talking about," he groaned. "I'm just a guy. Am I scaring you? I'm not trying to, I promise."

"You!" she pointed at him fiercely and her eyebrows knit in frustration, "You don't understand! It's just…weird!"

He likened her positioning like a cornered mouse. They weren't getting any closer to their destination. Unsure of what to do, Kosei shuffled and played with the ends of his hair. "You're right. I don't understand. But whatever you're feeling isn't necessarily bad, is it?"

"No. It's just…new."

Slowly, she approached with only the sound of the rushing water filling the silence. They were just a few inches apart now. "It's…like I have unfounded and solid purpose now. Something that was lost to me. But I also feel…doubt. And uncertainty. It's like everything all at once and yet…it's nice."

Their eyes finally met, and she quietly reached out to touch his hand, curious to see his reaction. "Will you…help me?"

He simply said, "Yes. That's why I came. I'm here to help you."

Overwhelmed, she simply wrapped him up into a hug and smiled. For a while, they stayed close. When she parted, Kosei felt a bit empty. But soon it was relieved as she grabbed his hand, "Okay well, then let's go get rested up…sorry!"

"HEY!" A voice, one of a younger male's, began to reverb up towards them. Kin-Kin's face twisted with anxiety, "Oh no! Not Korey! Oh…"

A teen boy with baggy clothes and a strange haircut began to scale the waterfall area behind Kosei. He was skinny but had tone to his figure. His eyes were a sharp blue, and his hair was snow white. Piercings donned his nose, lips and ears. A fierce dragon sat roaring upon his sleeveless tee, and two large spiked cuffs clamped onto his wrists. Kin-Kin glanced away, trying to act clueless.

Korey grumbled as he came up behind Kosei, nearly pushing him out of the way, "Why the hell are Emerald and Damien asking me to pick up TWO of you now?" He eyed Kosei with a scowl.

"Oh dear," he said. "They must've assumed I got lost trying to find her. This was my task. I'm sorry if they ended up roping you into this errand as well." He cleared his throat and held out his hand. "Kosei Treger. Are you a… coworker?"

Kin-Kin felt herself sinking into her collar. Korey snickered, giving him a strange-looking grin, "You could say that."

"That's my brother…" Kin-Kin squeaked gently. Korey waltzed over to her and sighed, taking her hand gently. She followed his cue, quietly grabbing Kosei's hand as they began to walk in a line back towards the cabin.